This AI news roundup covers significant developments in pricing, open-weight models, and robotics infrastructure. OpenAI aggressively reduced GPT-5.6 costs while Thinking Machines released a compact multimodal model, and Google DeepMind expanded its robotics capabilities.
- OpenAI cut GPT-5.6 Luna prices by 80% and Terra by 20%, introducing Sol Fast with lower latency for agent workflows.
- Thinking Machines released Inkling-Small, an open-weights MoE model with 12B active parameters that matches flagship performance at a quarter the size.
- Google DeepMind launched Gemini Robotics 2, enabling whole-body humanoid control and multi-robot coordination through a unified brain architecture.
- Cloud agents now account for 56% of merged PRs in Cursor, while persistent memory infrastructure faces mixed evidence regarding its impact on answer quality.
These updates highlight a shift toward more efficient inference costs, accessible open-weight multimodal models, and the maturation of embodied AI systems.